To be honest, I’m not all that keen on Hamilton myself. For starters, he’s carrying around enough baggage to fill the hold of a jumbo jet, second, he’s going to ask for the moon and stars for a contract, and this team has too many holes to fill (third base, bullpen, left field, center field, bench) to blow the budget on one player.
By the way, after the Yankees came up pathetically short at the plate against Detroit, you can bet the mortgage Hank Steinbrenner will empty the vault to bring Hamilton to the Bronx, and bidding against the Yanks when they want a free agent bad enough is a fool’s errand. If this sounds stupid, so be it, but the Phils can live without Hamilton.

I’d be interested to see what it would cost to get Youkilis. Not sure what they’re going to do in CF. I hope they don’t overpay for Bourn. Not crazy about Upton but worth looking in to.
1. Rollins
2. Upton…maybe?
3. Utley
4. Howard
5. Chooch
6. Youkilis
7. Ruf
8. Brown
Bench: Kratz, Fransden, Galvis, Pierre, and then any of three in Mayberry, Nix, or Schierlholtz.
Team needs to get younger but I think adding a veteran like Youkilis is good if you are willing to take a chance on Ruf and Brown.

i love hamilton, as well, but im not sure he fits the team right now. /agree with the above. he will require too much money when we need more than that one special player to put us over the top. His proposed salary could be a good CF and good 3B or good CF and top RP.
I actually like Ruf and Frandsen a lot, especially at their current values and team control. am i comfortable with both starting on opening day? no, but i wouldnt mind a Ruf platoon at a corner OF spot with Frandsen at 3rd if it means RAJ uses that saved money to grab Upton/Bourne and Mike Adams (or another top setup guy as long as its not a chad qualls bust).
regarding Upton v Bourne, i like them both equally- i remember at least 2 games against the phillies (one on Houston, one on ATL) where Bourne reached 1st with <2 outs, stole second and 3rd within a few pitches, and then scored on a sac fly and fielders choice, respectively, for the go-ahead runs that ended up being the winning runs. That is impact right there- pulling a win out of nowhere. But Bourne looks to be getting a fatter contract this offseason so Upton may be the better sign.
I’d take either if the price is right, but that will probably be Upton unless the Yanks get heavily involved. I dont want to pay 5/80, but 5/60 is doable. Most blogs and reporters have upton getting 5/60 and bourne getting 5/80.
One other thing to note is the clubhouse presence/chemistry. I think this is the single most important part of a team’s success once you have decent players. Look at all the superstar-filled teams that flounder and all the scrub teams that succeed every single year. It’s about chemistry. When players love playing together and build that teammate bond, they play harder and help each other out when struggling. It’s something this phillies nucleus has almost always had, and i think RAJ is very careful about his FA signings to make sure they fit in with the current group of guys. Bourne was well-liked and missed when he left (for the limited time he played for us), but how was Upton in TB? (i really dont know)

James: I could be wrong, but I think Scott Boras represents Bourn, so I’d keep FAR away from him. I’m not thrilled about Upton either, but he could be a less costly alternative. Oh, and guess who might be an even cheaper option in centerfield—-Shane Victorino. He hardly set L.A. on fire during his tenure there and could be available as a free agent. Just saying.
As for third base, perhaps the Phils’ greatest area of need in 2013, Kevin Youkilis is certainly intriguing, but I worry that there’s too little tread left on his tires and he might wind up being the second coming of Placido Polanco, the broken down version who rarely played I mean. If I were Ruben, I’d look towards San Diego and Chase Headley and see if he might be available.

His brother has an amusing dry and deadpan sense of humor (Justin Upton). I saw him interviewed live on Intentional Talk..they’re competitive with each other (talking about who was going to get more home runs or something like that).